DBA Fee Only Financial Planning

Under the Investment Advisers Act, a fee-only advisor cannot receive any commission, 12b-1 fee, spread, or third-party payment connected to a financial product. They are compensated directly by the client — typically through a percentage of assets under management, an hourly rate, or a flat annual retainer. This differs from 'fee-based' advisors, who may charge fees for planning but also accept brokerage commissions, creating potential dual-registration conflicts that must be disclosed on Form ADV.

The firm's naming convention strongly implies a pure RIA structure. A hybrid firm that accepts both fees and commissions would be unlikely to embed 'Fee Only' into its corporate name — doing so would create a near-certain regulatory and marketing liability if any brokerage activity were discovered. The legal entity name suggests the firm files a Form ADV as an investment adviser and does not maintain a separate broker-dealer registration.

Principal details are not publicly available for this entity. In a firm of this type, the owner-operator typically serves as both chief investment officer and lead planner, constructing portfolios from low-cost ETFs and index mutual funds. If the firm outsources investment management to a TAMP or model provider, that disclosure would appear on the firm's Form ADV Part 2A.

The firm's fee-only, planning-first posture suggests it does not. Pure financial planning practices serving retail and mass-affluent clients rarely allocate to alternatives beyond publicly traded REITs or interval funds. If DBA were active in private markets, it would need to file specific ADV disclosures related to pooled investment vehicles or solicitation arrangements.

Comprehensive financial planning firms typically integrate tax analysis into every recommendation — Roth conversion modeling, capital gains harvesting, asset location across account types, and charitable giving strategies. Most stop short of preparing tax returns or drafting legal documents, instead coordinating with the client's CPA and estate attorney. DBA's exact service boundaries would be documented in their client agreement and ADV Part 2.